The Mall,  by Megan McCafferty, is a retro, over-the-top YA story about mall culture and the summer after high school. Cassie plans to spend her final summer in New Jersey working along side her boyfriend at America’s Best Cookie, but turns out that while she was home recovering from mono*, her perfect boyfriend started dating the girl from Bath & Body Works. So Cassie goes to work at Bellarosa boutique instead, where she flirts with the surf shop guy and the mall arcade guy to get back at him… the mall is the center of post-high-school life in this novel. 

Life at this mall blends the familiar Cinnabon and Panda Express with a mysterious treasure hunt for Tommy and Vince D’Abruzzi’s hidden Cabbage Patch millions. Without revealing too much of the mystery, Cassie and her friend Drea search for clues hidden around the mall, and research messages in pre-Google ways. 

Cassie’s a slightly flat character overall, but the book still worked because the mall was such a vibrant setting full of so many weird characters. And maybe this is secretly Drea’s story all along? Cassie’s a top student with a perfect figure, marking time in her easy, well-paid job until she leaves for a top school in the city. When she decides to learn to drive or find a different job, that’s easy for her too. Drea, though, is discovering that she can hook up with boys and care about fashion, and also have brains (Ok, Cassie learns this about Drea too), and that she has her own talents and skills.

I just loved revisiting the early 90s Jersey mall scene in this story. The Mall has a lot of humor elements, but it’s more of a time capsule than a mockery. Cassie wants to leave her hometown and start college in NYC because she’s a high school senior, not because New Jersey sucks. Same for Drea, she wants to try design because she’s interested in fashion design, not because retail is worthless. 

This was such a fun read, with high school mall memories combined with a crazy mystery, but I have to say, I found the extreme number of makeovers hard to take. Drea gives Cassie a new look every couple pages, and what first felt like an homage to an 80s movie montage became a bit excessive.

Still, a fun read overall! 

*Don’t worry, Cassie, I happen to know that that spending a few months at home recovering from mono will be good practice for staying home through a pandemic later in life.